900 E. Broad St., Room 511
Richmond, VA 23219
Monday-Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Jackson Ward
2nd Street Summit Update
The draft strategy document is ready for review. The City has been working with the community to develop a future vision and strategies for 2nd Street, and we want to hear your thoughts and ideas. Click HERE to access the draft document and provide comments. The public comment period will be open through Monday, October 14, 2024 Thursday, October 31, 2024.
(The public comment period has been extended to allow commenting through the end of October.)
The Jackson Ward Community Plan brings Gilpin Court and Jackson Ward residents, planning experts, elected officials, and community members together to reach an informed, shared vision for the future of the neighborhood.
The final plan was submitted to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Friday, November 17, 2023. We’re thankful for our engaged community. From the very first meeting to October’s final celebration, you’ve helped us reach this milestone. Click HERE to view the final plan.
Impacts of Housing & Highway Projects
Post-Reconstruction Era, “Jackson Ward” was created as a political boundary meant to neutralize the new voting power of the recently emancipated Blacks. Jackson Ward was known as “Black Wall Street” and “Harlem of the South” due to the thriving Black businesses and entertainment venues located throughout Jackson Ward. During its heyday from the 1920s through the 1940s, Jackson Ward was one of the most active and well-known centers of African-American life throughout the U.S., and the hub of black professional and entrepreneurial activities in the city and the state.
Urban renewal or “slum clearance” & highway projects, largely funded by state & federal programs, altered the socio-spatial landscape of many U.S. cities throughout the 20th Century. Richmond, Virginia utilized this funding and eminent domain in many of the older areas of the city at the expense of the mostly black communities living there. Overlaying outlines of the block configurations from 1924 Sanborn Insurance Maps over today’s infrastructure shows how much the urban landscape was changed.
1) Public Housing: Gilpin Court
- Built in 1942, expanded in 1957 and 1970
- Funded by United States Housing Act of 1937
- First public housing site in Richmond
- First instance of slum clearance in Richmond
- Altered street network
- Displaced 100s of black residents of Apostle Town neighborhood
2) Highway Construction: Interstate 95/64
- Built in 1955
- Funded by Commonwealth of Virginia
- Displaced 10% of city’s black population at the time
- Physically split once-thriving black neighborhood Jackson Ward
- Destroyed dozens of mixed-use streets and completely disrupted street network
- Decentralized the city and incentivized white flight to the suburbs
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Jackson Ward Community Plan
The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development awarded a $450,000 Choice Neighborhood planning grant to RRHA and the City of Richmond to initiate a community planning process for Gilpin Court and Jackson Ward. The Reconnecting Jackson Ward Feasibility Study will help determine solutions to physically re-connect Jackson Ward and Gilpin Court. The Community Plan will explore land use, housing, community engagement, and other strategies to reach a shared vision for the future of Jackson Ward and the transformation of Gilpin Court. We will start the community planning process in 2022.
Reconnect Jackson Ward
The Virginia Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment (OIPI), in coordination with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the City of Richmond, has officially launched the Reconnect Jackson Ward Feasibility Study. The Community Visioning phase is now underway. Visit www.ReconnectJacksonWard.com to learn more about the study and participate in shaping Jackson Ward’s future!
On Saturday, June 29, 2024, the City of Richmond hosted the 2nd Street Summit. This interactive community meeting brought residents, businesses, property owners, and community leaders together to discuss the future vision for 2nd Street and identify specific strategies that the City and community can implement to propel 2nd Street further towards that vision.
The 2nd Street Summit included:
- A walking tour of 2nd Street beginning at the Maggie Lena Walker Statue and Memorial Plaza.
- Interactive small group activities at the Speakeasy at the Hippodrome.
- A dynamic illustration session that concluded the meeting.
The insights gained from this interactive community meeting will ultimately be incorporated into the Jackson Ward Community Plan and will guide the success of 2nd Street for years to come.
To see the agenda of the 2nd Street Summit, click HERE.
https://www.vpm.org/news/2022-10-14/reconnect-jackson-ward-aims-to-make-residents-whole-again
https://www.vpm.org/news/2023-03-07/reconnect-jackson-ward-interstate-95-cap-grant
https://rictoday.6amcity.com/city/jackson-ward-community-plan-draft-comment-period-richmond-va
https://richmondfreepress.com/news/2024/mar/07/jackson-wards-restaurant-scene-helps-spur-citys-bu/